The Prem Bhatia awards were instituted in 1995 in the memory of the journalist Prem Bhatia. The award is distributed annually “to propagate the values that Prem Bhatia stood for – objective reporting, fearless pursuit of the truth and a commitment to improvement in the standards of journalism in this country”.

Dipankar Ghose of the Indian Express won the award for his reports on the migrant labour crisis and the pandemic coverage.

The PARI team received the award this year for their “extensive field reports, including climate change effects and the impact of the pandemic on rural India” and is being given to “PARI collectively for its army of field reporters, volunteers and its dedicated team.”

PARI’s climate change series is a picture of the changing climate across 11 states in India and its impact on the regions’ population. Their coverage of the pandemic across 100 regions included the stories of migrant labourers, farmers, boatmen, weavers, artisans and sanitation workers, among others.

Read the stories that won the award here, here and here.

Note: The report erroneously mentioned only People's Archive of Rural India. The error is regretted.

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